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Powering Up Europe: New Drive for the Franco-German Engine
11/08/2025

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getty-images-c2SB8xTEhp0-unsplash

Since the new federal government took office, the Franco-German engine has been warming up. Sabine Hoscislawski shows what is now needed to ensure that it has a long-term impact at EU level.

Franco-German relations were long seen as the driving force behind European integration. However, this engine has stuttered in recent years. Disagreements in key policy areas, lack of mutual understanding and domestic political crises have led to a leadership vacuum at EU level.

The situation seems to have changed with the new German government. Chancellor Merz and President Macron called for a ‘Franco-German restart for Europe’. In the latest issue of Berlin Perspectives, Sabine Hoscislawski analyses how Germany can use this momentum to strengthen links with France in the long term. This includes the concretisation of joint undertakings, the strengthening of civil society exchange formats and the reaching out to Central and Eastern European partners. A resilient, capable Franco-German tandem can still be the key to European integration.

Downloads & sources

Berlin Perspectives_Franco German Engine_2025 (PDF 1,0 MB)

Team & authors

Sabine Hoscislawski
Research Associate
Person
Team
Prof Dr Funda Tekin
Director
Person
Team
Dr Johanna Hase
Research Advisor — on parental leave
Person
Team
William Tovarovski
Student Assistant
Person
Team

About the Berlin Perspectives project: The IEP Policy Brief series Berlin Perspectives presents precise analyses on Germany’s European policy to an English-speaking audience. The authors analyse German European policy positions on current topics and debates to provide policy recommendations based on their findings.

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